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‘Better perks’ needed for young employees

11 September 2013

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Employers wishing to improve their talent management skills should consider introducing better ‘perks’ to boost staff morale. 

Current benefits packages are failing to maintain top talent, a survey released by Barclays has found. 

The research showed that most employees (87%) from Generation X (born between 1960 and 1980) and Generation Y (born between 1980 and 2004) are dissatisfied by their employers benefit offerings. 

Many bosses appear to be offering perks which may be suitable for an older generation, but are “missing the mark” when it comes to younger employees. 

Dr Paul Redmond, lead author and director of Employability and Educational Opportunities at the University of Liverpool said that benefits packages should be tailored for each generational group. 

He said: “We found that there is great demand among all generational groups for flexibility and tailoring of packages, but significantly, the research highlighted the fact that traditional benefits packages are not meeting the expectations and the lifestyle needs of the younger generations in particular.” 

According to the report Talking About My Generation: Exploring the Benefits Engagement Challenge 65% of Generation Y workers want financial education and guidance, but only 17% of UK employers offer it. 

The study of 1,200 UK employees discovered that although pension schemes, training and personal development, holiday flexibility and flexibility around working hours are among the most commonly available benefits to employees, 42% of Generation Y employees would value help with a mortgage deposit and a quarter (25%) would value access to a personal banker through work.